bay area man was trying to protect with an alligator named mr. teeth. good evening. i'm mr. ken bastida. >> and i'm ms. elizabeth cook. we've all heard of guard dogs. but a guard alligator? that's what sheriff's deputies tell linda yee they found at a home in castro valley. and the five-foot gator was guarding a drug stash. >> reporter: sheriff's deputies found him in a plexiglass tank. >> a five-foot alligator that was used as a deterrent to guard it. >> reporter: cops were just doing a routine search at the home of the gator's owner, who ask on -- who is on probation. >> it started to move and it became a little more aggressive and that caused great concern for them. >> reporter: when they moved mr. teeth into an animal welfare truck, it was snapping.

and the neighbors on this quiet street were talking. >> when i saw the alligator... >> what did you think? >> just weird. >> reporter: one woman was so rattled, she wanted her face hidden. >> it's scary. i mean, couldn't even dream that this could be happening over here. >> reporter: people here said the family kept to themselves. they have a young son and some pit bull puppies. and there were lots of visitors. >> it's always trouble here, a lot of strangers here, because they live here now. they're renters. so there's been a lot of talk about what they've been doing. >> reporter: deputies believe their suspect was selling the marijuana, 100,000 reasons why mr. teeth was standing guard. the suspect told police he bought that gator 16 years ago to commemorate the death of tupac shakur. what that has to do with anything is anyone's guess.

in the meantime, the gator has a new home at the oakland county zoo where it is being treated by vets for an unspecified illness. you bet it's cold outside. it's about to get a whole lot colder. our meteorologist, mr. paul deanno, is here. >> we're going to see some snow. teeth are going to be chattering over the next couple of days. the cold front is through. now that cold air will start spilling in. who is going to see snow? in the north bay, 1500 feet snow level, north of the golden gate. even the santa cruz mountains. tomorrow morning, we're going to see a couple inches of snow south of monterey. a winter weather advisory there. already posted for form night and friday morning, freeze

warnings, widespread, all of the inland areas of the east bay, most of the north bay, even the peninsula is going to be seeing a frost advisory, all the areas shaded in blue, including san jose, just get frosty coming up on friday morning. we'll talk about how long this cold snap is going to last, coming up. >> possible snow day he said. well, the cold won't help what is turning into a nasty flu season. but not why you might think. i know this is going to sound a little weird, but cbs 5 reporter kiet do tells us getting outdoors even in the cold weather might actually help us avoid getting sick. kiet, explain. >> reporter: we are live here in the top of the summit on highway 17 where, yes, it is cold and windy, but at least the air is fresh and germ-free. the rain, wind and cold rolled into the bay area at sundown. as this front moves in from the north, there is another one coming in from the east. the series of maps show how the

flu, colored in brown, has been on a slow and steady march straight towards california. it has killed 18 children and is being called the worst flu season in years. as one of the coldest storms in the winter moves in, being outside more often actually might not be such a bad idea. >> it's not that the cold weather is causing the flu to spread, but rather, kids and adults are more likely to be indoors. that's why they mix. germs spread. we have the flu. >> reporter: it's a perfect storm of cold and germs. the good news? not too late to get a vaccination. the owners of the drive-in diner up here tell us that that front moved in very quickly, the way the weather changed just like that, so all the cal trans workers are home sleeping now. they are on call just in case the snowplows are needed. live in santa cruz county, kiet do, cbs 5. well, so many people in boston have the flu,

the city of boston has actually declared a public health emergency. and in allentown, pennsylvania, the hospital is so overrun with flu patients, it set up special tents outside. and in l.a., the county health department has run out of flu vaccine. there's also a shortage of the vaccine popular with kids. also in the news tonight, the mother of a missing bay area girl learned today that a bone fragment is not that of her daughter. that bone was found in october in a san joaquin county well where several victims of the speed freak killers are buried. because of the estimated age, it was thought that it could be mckayla garrett. turns out, though, that that bone belonged to an older teenager. >> i was shocked. and kind of disheartened about it, because i was worried about mckayla's mom. i want it to be what she wants it to be. i want her to have closure too. >> many of you will remember

nine-year-old mckayla was kidnapped from in front of a hayward shopping center back in 1988. san francisco police want you to take a good look at this guy. they believe he may have killed the woman seen walking with him in this surveillance video. 46-year-old elia cruz is the victim. this was the last time she was seen alive. she was found dead in her tenderloin apartment a short time later. investigators have been searching for her killer since october. president obama will probably spell out some of his ideas to reduce gun violence by next week. we're hearing he'll use his state of the union address next month to push his plan. reporter major garrett has learned some of what the president is planning to propose. >> reporter: the president wants congress to reinstate the assault weapons ban that expired in 2004. vice president biden has devoted this week to hearing from all sides, including the

nra, tomorrow. >> we're here today to do -- urgent action, and the president and i are determined to take action. >> reporter: he met today with victims of gun violence and gun- control advocates and said the political climate will never be the same after the newtown massacre. >> of all the tragic events we've endured, i don't think anything touches the heart of the american people so profoundly as those young children being riddled with bullets. >> reporter: the white house is also looking at ways to encourage gun owners to use and store their firearms more safely. it is reviewing the effectiveness of gun buyback programs. biden said the president might also sidestep congress and use executive orders to advance his

agenda. senior administrative officials offered no specifics but acknowledged there's very little the president can do on gun control without congress's consent. the nra is likely to remind the vice president of that in their meeting on thursday. a crazy new signature will be on our money if the president gets his way. check this out. that's how jack lew, the president's nominee to be the new treasury secretary, that's how he signs his name. he says he has no plans to brush on on his penmanship. he previously served as budget director and was an executive at citigroup. why police are saying this guy's wife set him up. a legal loophole in some rape cases. why the senate refused to change the law because it didn't want to put anybody else

in prison. and spakooli to the rescue. his

we told you last night

about the life and death struggle after a man discovered a burglar inside his apartment. investigators are now telling us these four people were behind the scheme to scare the man. one of the partners in crime ended up getting stabbed to death in the process. christin ayers back where she was last night at that apartment complex in pittsburg. christin, what's the latest? >> reporter: well, this story has definitely taken a bizarre twist. when this all happened yesterday, it sounded pretty straightforward. police told us a man stabbed an intruder who was breaking into his home. today police are saying there is indeed a twist, that the entire break-in was orchestrated by the burglar victim's wife. >> our victim was targeted by his wife. >> reporter: pittsburg police say charmaine guerrero taijeron wanted her husband to move out of the apartment she shared with him. but he wouldn't.

so she enlisted the man she was cheating with, matt parker, his brother charles, and two other men to intimidate her husband. >> she plotted the burglar with her boyfriend in an either to scare him and persuade him into leaving the residence. >> reporter: after two weeks of planning, yesterday morning, charles parker, salgado and lindsey used the keys to get into the house. they may have had plans to try to steal marijuana the husband was legally growing. but things quickly went south. when lindsey walked into the home with a fake gun, the husband grabbed for a real gun. the other two men ran but were arrested later. now all four suspects are charged with murder for plotting a conspiracy that led to lindsey's death. all four of them behind bars. authorities telling us the

husband was not hurt. he has custody of his two children tonight. >> did the investigators talk to you at all about how they broke this thing open to figure out what happened? >> reporter: turned out that a couple of the three people trying to burglarize that home, two of them tried to run away. they were in the area. police caught them and questioned both of them. and in fact, they were questioning them last night. it sounds like one or the other talked and it led to all four of them being arrested. they're getting a much better look at the damage the oil tanker caused to the bay bridge this week. this picture shows the underside of the support column that was hit. another picture shows the scrape mark on the ship. look to the left of your screen. some of the wood from the support beam is actually stuck to the ship. here's a closer look. damage to the bridge is now estimated between $2 and $3 million. an attorney for the pilot says speculation of pilot error is

premature. in a statement, he says there are many potential causes, such as mechanical failure, faulty navigational devices, unpredictable fog conditions and other possible sources. well, it was by any stretch a pretty bizarre court ruling. a convicted rapist freed because of a century-old law that does not protect single women. one california lawmaker has been trying to close this loophole for years now. allen martin on why it's a rare case of the senate not wanting to put more people in prison. >> reporter: it sounded like rape. a man slips into the bedroom of a sleeping 18-year-old woman. in a handwritten note to police, he says at first she confused him with her boyfriend and consented. then she realized he was a stranger. she told officers that he raped her. but according to a california law dating back to 1872, what happened is not a crime. an appellate decision

overturning the suspect's conviction spells out why. has the man committed rape because of historical anomalies in the law? the answer is no. even though, if the woman had been married and the man had -- in 2011, a bill was introduced to protect all women, whether married or single, against rape by impersonation. the bill moved to the senate public safety committee, where it never went up for a vote. that's because of a policy adopted in 2007 by the senate's democratic leadership called roca, or the receivership overcrowding crisis aggravation policy. it prohibits the committee from voting on any public safety bills that could put more

prisoners in the state's already crowded prisons. >> unfortunately, red tape. and sometimes they overwrite something. >> reporter: the committee's republican vice chairman wants to get rid of roca, so that all bills get voted on. >> there might have been a good excuse for the roca file in the past but it was abused. it's basically now being used as political cover for -- so that members of the committee don't have to take tough votes. >> reporter: this week, a new version of the bill was introduced, hoping that now, because of public outrage, it will actually get voted on this time in we're not able to put women's rights -- in this 20th century, what's next? time is running out for a pack of killer whales trapped in ice. >> the pod got stuck when part

of the hudson bay in canada froze over. the problem is all the orcas have to share a small opening in the ice as a breathing hole. they are taking turns. they usually leave before the ice moves in. an ice breaker needs to come in and carve a path, but the nearest crew is too far away. experts arrive tomorrow to see if the orcas can be saved. >> such majestic animals. it's hard to think about that. certainly not hudson bay cold, but we're gonna get kind of chilly. it's going to last for like a night or two. we're talking all the way to the top of next week. notice this camera here. shaking a bit, because the wind is picking up. we're seeing wind gusts of 20 to 25 miles per hour. i want to show you this graphic one more time. there's a lot of red on there, and the red is a freeze warning

for tomorrow night. not tonight. tomorrow night. all the interior valleys, most of the north bay. you'll be in the 20's tomorrow night. and a frost advisory for oakland, san jose, all the way up to san mateo county. it's going to be cold tomorrow night. it's going to stay cold for several nights thereafter. rainfall, there will be scattered showers out there, nothing too heavy. but the snow level is down to 1500 feet in the north bay tomorrow morningful we'll send our helicopter up to see if we can capture some of those snow showers. lows tomorrow, give the kids a jacket. cold front is through. you can see that line of cloud cover rushing down towards san diego and los angeles. but what's now moving in is air direct from the arctic, giving us a north flow of air. i've colored it blue for you. it's going to be cold air. this pattern stuck till about the top of next week. thursday night, friday night, saturday night, sunday night, all near or below freezing.

we're going to be cold for about four or five straight days. highs tomorrow, 40's. snow level dropping to 1500 feet. overnight lows in the 20's and low 30's through the weekend. highs tomorrow, livermore, only 48. san jose, 50. you should be up near 60. sunnyvale, 51. union city, 50. 49 -- that's it -- for walnut creek. windy and cold tomorrow. scattered showers. san francisco, only 50. extended forecast, we'll improve, we'll get warmer, but only a degree or two. next week, back to the mid 50's. that's gonna have to feel warm, because that's all we're getting from mother nature for the next seven days. >> not a 60 degrees in sight. >> maybe february. >> people in michigan are laughing at us right now. >> i know. >> if 66 was cold, that would be the lead story. coming up, how a famous actor helped save a beloved bay

area bar.

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acadamy award winner, sean penn. he's been a long-time patron of the no san francisco's tosca cafe needed an angel and it got one. >> it happens to be sean penn. who knew? but he's been a long time patron of this bar. the owner has been having some trouble paying the rent and was evicted. the bar was set to close in august when penn heard of it. he got a group behind three popular new york restaurants to sign a ten-year lease on the property. >> it's really neat that there's a community out there that can help save this bar, because it's rooted here, for so long. >> it will be closing for renovations. it's expected to reopen within two months of the liquor license being renewed. >> we had a couple of tweets on mr. teeth, our lead story? >> yes. somebody said, what was up with

that alligator story you guys led with? i could go on and on. you gotta get somebody's attention. hear why two bay area writers gave thumbs up to barry bonds and why one did not. and be the warriors end the seven-game losing streak to the grizzlies? listen. back in my day, there was no u-verse wireless receiver that let you move the tv away from the tv outlet. we can move it to the kitchen, the patio, the closet and almost anywhere. why would you want a tv in the closet? [ both laugh ] ♪ ♪ [ fancy voice ] brilliant idea, darling. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] the wireless receiver only from at&t u-verse. get u-verse tv for $29 a month for six months. at&t. oh! progress-oh! -oh! -oh! oh! oh! ♪ what do you know? ♪ oh! ♪ ♪ bacon? -oh! -oh! oh!

[ female announcer ] with 40 delicious progresso soups at 100 calories or less, there are plenty of reasons people are saying "progress-oh!" share your story for a chance to win a progress-oh! makeover in hollywood. go to facebook.com/progresso to enter. for over 60,000 california foster children nights can feel long and lonely. i miss my sister. i miss my old school. i miss my room. i don't want special treatment. i just wanna feel normal. to help, sleep train is collecting pajamas for foster children, big and small. bring your gift to any sleep train and help make a foster child's night a little cozier. not everyone can be a foster parent but anyone can help a foster child.

exact.. we have an andrew bogut sighting!!! his first workout since november 7. boy, could they have t against warriors, we have an andrew sighting. gasol bullies his way to the rim. the warriors come from 14 down to tie it on curry's shot. memphis is very big, very physical. grizz take it eight straight over your warriors. washington state. 14-0 run by the cardinals. they win 78-67.

the full monty and his bears hosting washington. the huskies scored 16 straight, including wilcox. monty ripping his players on a time-out. washington to win 62-47. for the first time since 1996, nobody was elected to the baseball hall of fame. can you say steroids? bonds didn't come close to be voted in. just 36% say bonds belongs in the hall, far short of the 75% required. >> barry bonds won three mvp's when he was still skinny. that's good enough for me. >> i chose not to vote for barry bonds. they do not want players from the steroid era in the hall of fame. >> the baseball hall of fame, walk through there and count the cheaters, the guys who lie, the racists.

it's not the hall of character. people's voice is that barry deserves it. everybody was on steroids. time for the top five. no. 5, the slam. raptors beat the 76ers. ooh, that's pretty. no. 4, how about reed? wanna see a one-handed statement? there it is. no. 3, it's getting really bad for the lakers. kobe bryant, this to tie the game? no. this to tie the game. no. 2, anthony marshall falls into the stands. a fan shoves him. the refs control the situation. new mexico beat them. no. 1, san diego state-fresno state, dunk of the year. oh baby! feeds it to himself. pretty good stuff.

san diego state wins. we will be right back.

our next newscast is tomorrow morning at 4-30. your help is needed in finding our nest newscast, tomorrow morning at 4:30. i expect all of you to be

there. ( band playing "late show" theme ) >> from the heart of broadway broadcasting across the nation and around the world it's the "late show" with david letterman. tonight... plus paul shaffer and the cbs orchestra. i'm alan kalter. >> and now long story short david letterman! captioning sponsored by worldwide pants and cbs ( band playing "late show" theme ) ( cheers and